Navigating Kingship: Sea Power and Sovereignty in Gower's Confessio Amantis

Authors

Elizabeth D. Brissey, Auburn UniversityFollow

Abstract

This article examines John Gower’s Apollonius of Tyre in the Confessio Amantis through the lens of the blue humanities, giving special attention to the ways in which the tale treats the sovereign’s maritime domain as integral to the terrestrial. Apollonius depicts sovereignty over aquapelagic space, with the sea serving both as a channel of exchange and as a figurative medium through which sovereignty is negotiated. The crucial issue that aligns the Apollonius tale with the concept of English sovereignty lies in its vision of thalassocratic space in which kingship is grounded in sea power and the sea as a connecting network. By situating his final lesson on kingship within the eastern Mediterranean aquapelago, Gower meditates on sovereignty, the sea, and the precarious responsibilities of rule. This geospatial analogy affords a topical reading: Gower’s tale critiques Richard II for failing to “keep the seas” as Edward III had and for failing to govern himself appropriately as a king.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Eve Salisbury, Georgiana Donavin, two anonymous readers, the International John Gower Society, and Craig E. Bertolet for their valuable feedback on earlier versions of this essay, first presented at the Vth Annual Congress of the Society in 2023 and developed in part from a chapter of my dissertation.

Recommended Citation

Brissey, Elizabeth D. () "Navigating Kingship: Sea Power and Sovereignty in Gower's Confessio Amantis," Accessus: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/accessus/vol9/iss1/4